Another Hit: Chloe Moretz

Another Hit: Chloe Moretz

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Published October 1, 2010

CHLOE MORETZ IN LET ME IN

Chloe Moretz is still best-known, for now, as Hit Girl, the foul-mouthed 11-year-old superhero vigilante from this year’s Kick-Ass. But keep an eye on 13-year-old Moretz. She’s mature beyond her years, just like Dakota Fanning was a few years ago, or like Jodie Foster was a few decades before that. And she’s industrious: when I asked her what projects she has coming up, she rattled off a list of seven movies she’s attached to, including Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This isn’t new for Moretz, who’s been in at least three films each year since 2005, including TheAmityville Horror, Bolt, and (500) Days of Summer. This weekend marks the premiere of Let Me In, the American adaptation of the supernatural Swedish hit Let the Right One In; Moretz plays Abby, a vampire who befriends a 12-year-old boy in small-town New Mexico.

Moretz seems to have gotten caught up in the vampire spirit: she Tweeted a picture today of herself biting the neck of a Robert Pattinson cutout. We caught up with her to discuss middle-school bloodsuckers, Louboutins, and heirloom skis.

ALEXANDRIA SYMONDS: So how did you get into the mindset of becoming a vampire?

CHLOE MORETZ: Getting into the mindset of being Abby was pretty crazy, because obviously, I’m only 13, so I can’t say “life experiences.” So, basically, I had to… act! I had to make up this character that is very old. I guess that’s why they call it acting–you do draw from some stuff in your life, I guess, but it’s not real life. You have to fake it.

SYMONDS: Did you end up talking to any other young actors who have played vampires?

MORETZ: I guess the only young-young actor that’s played a vampire would be Kirsten Dunst. So I called her up and I was like, “Hey, Kir-Kir!”… But yeah, I just kind of talked to my brother, who’s my acting coach, and we just figured out the role with Matt and me and him.

SYMONDS: What’s it like having your brother as your acting coach?

MORETZ: It’s good, you know, because we are so close. He can be like, “That sucked, Chloe. You need to pick that up. You’re not thinking right now. Seriously, think.” It’s a good harsh reality, because my family keeps me very grounded.

SYMONDS: Has he been your coach since the very beginning?

MORETZ: Yeah, he’s what got me into the business. So it’s a really great relationship we have. We’re really, really, really close. Our whole family is–we’re thick as thieves.

SYMONDS: So you weren’t allowed to see the [R-rated] Swedish version of the film, right? Do you have any idea when you’re going to be allowed?

MORETZ: I could be forty! It’s up to my mom and dad. I would love to see it now, but tell my parents that, you know? So, one day. But I guess it’s good, staying thirteen.

SYMONDS: How have directors dealt with the difficult subject matter in the films that you’ve been in? How much of what was happening in The Amityville Horror did you understand as a seven-year-old?

MORETZ: They kept me very, very shielded when I was that young, because of course, I was seven years old. You know, you’re still kind of reading. It’s still kind of like, “Cat.” “Dog.” “Ann jumped over fence.” So I guess in a way it helped me progress in school, too, because I was reading so much and memorizing so much. I was very advanced in reading. But yeah, you know, they kept me very shielded from everything that was going on in the film. I didn’t know anything, basically, about the film. I just knew that it was a scary film. And, yeah, I wasn’t allowed to watch it. I can watch it now, I’m just too scared. [Laughs]

SYMONDS: Do horror movies scare you? Even though you’ve been in them for so long?

MORETZ: Horror movies? Oh, yeah. Because I watch them as just –I don’t even watch them as an actor. Well, sometimes I do. Sometimes I criticize movies. It’s not fun to watch a movie with me, because I’ll go, “That was a really bad shot.” My mom’s like, “Shut up, Chloe, watch the film!”

SYMONDS: What about for Let Me In?

MORETZ: Well, I’m in most of the “bad” part in the film. So I’ve seen the whole film. Now that I’m older, I’m able to watch my own films, R-rated or not. But otherwise, I’m not allowed to watch R-rated films. I wouldn’t be allowed to watch this one, if I wasn’t in it.

SYMONDS: That’s a good loophole to have.

MORETZ: Yeah, there you go. It’s a good way to get around the system. “But, Mom, I have to watch this film for acting reasons.” “Chloe, unless [your brother] Trevor says you should watch it, you’re not going to watch it.”

SYMONDS: I read this trend story that apparently middle-schoolers and high-schoolers who are really obsessed with vampire movies are trying to bite each other on the necks, and draw blood, and try their best to become vampires. Do you think that’s actually happening?

MORETZ: I know there’s like a whole clan of people that do believe they’re vampires, and, hey, you know! I’m not saying anything against it, you, uh, you go for it! I mean, I’m… [laughs]

SYMONDS: Do you think that Let Me In is more or less likely to encourage that type of behavior?

MORETZ: I hope it doesn’t encourage it! I mean, vampires might be real! Honestly, I don’t know. It’s like saying aliens are real. I don’t know. We are so tiny in the spectrum of the universe, we’re a speck of dust compared to some galaxies, and so who knows what’s out there? We barely even know our own–we know more about space than we know about our own sea.

SYMONDS: That’s a very open-minded answer.

MORETZ: Thank you!

SYMONDS: So I know the last time you worked with Interview, it was more of a fashion story.

MORETZ: That was fun! That was awesome.

SYMONDS: So I wanted to ask about what you’re wearing today–you look great. I don’t know how you managed to look like that when it’s so dreary outside.

SYMONDS: How much do you get to go shopping? Do you have an allowance?

MORETZ: I get to look at stuff that I want! I get to wear stuff on the press tour that I wish I had. I get to wear Vivienne Westwood and McQueen and crazy stuff, but of course, my mom would never in a million years let me buy that. She won’t even let me buy my own pair of skis!

SYMONDS: That’s hard.

MORETZ: She’s like, “You’re growing! All we’re going to have to do is throw them away!” I’m like, “I could give them to my kids…”

SYMONDS: Heirloom skis.

MORETZ: Yeah, right. My kids will show up on the carpet, “These were my mom’s old ski boots, now they’re really in, from 2010.”

MORETZ: This, actually, is my own outfit! So I get to keep this. But my mom is practically my stylist. My mom’s amazing, she’s like everything woman.

SYMONDS: It sounds like you guys have a really healthy family dynamic, compared to some.

MORETZ: Definitely. TV shows and stuff give people in the business very bad names. I’m not going to name any shows, but a lot of shows…

SYMONDS: You kind of don’t need to.

MORETZ: You all know! But they give very bad names to people who are in this business, and it’s not true, it’s not like that! I actually work at my craft, and I actually want to be the best in my category, and I want to be a true actress. And a lot of people just want fame, and there’s a huge difference. A lot of people are like, “So you want to be famous.” And I’m like, “No, I want to be good at my craft. I don’t care about fame, I don’t care if I even ever make it. As long as people know what I am as an actress in this business, I’m set for my career right now.”

SYMONDS: It sounds like you have a better head on your shoulders than a lot of actresses my age.

MORETZ: Tell Vivienne Westwood–tell Louboutin that I want some shoes! I wore my first pair of Louboutins during this press tour. It was absolutely amazing, they weren’t heels, they were little shoes, but they were velvet and they were blue. I was on KTLA and I purposely lifted my shoe up to the camera a little bit. Everyone was like, “You’re wearing Louboutins!” And I was like, “Yeah, I’m not able to keep them.”